Memoir style writing from a rainy island in Alaska.

It’s Complicated, A POEM

This weekend was Mother’s Day. My Husband left to attend a christening and to spend Mother’s Day with his mother. I applaud this, I encouraged him to go. He is glad he went, I am glad he went. My lovely girls called from all corners of the world, Gracie from Berlin, Laura from New Orleans and Sarah called twice. Once with my dad who adorably held the phone to his ear during our FaceTime call, and again, later with Weston who sang “If you are happy and you know it” with me, clapping hands and shouting “Hoo Ray!”

I have spent Mother’s Day in a quiet house before. There were years when Scott was coaching the high school soccer team that they traveled this weekend. But. There was always Ballet, or when the girls were in college, twice I flew to spend the weekend with them.

Anyway, before you get feeling too sorry for me, I DID have a good friend who called me spontaneously and took me out Saturday night and we had hours of fun dancing. AND… she would have been happy to invite me to her house for Mother’s Day, but I decided to embrace the empty house. I quilted without interruption. Caught up on all my podcast episodes of “The Moth.” and read a lot on the deck in the sun. So. Yeah. It was a complicated weekend. And always. I miss my Mother on Mother’s Day.

Here is poem that I hope expresses how I felt a little.

I had the most tranquil weekend ever.
Still though,
I had the loneliest weekend ever
I got a lot done,
Yet I got nothing done.
Friends called,
We went out
Danced all night,
And yet
I realized ...
The next morning,
If I fell down,
Here in my hall
No one would know
For
Days.
It was just a
Slightly Weird weekend,
Full of love,
Full of quiet.
It was a
Complicated
Weekend.